Condo Owners Know Silence is Golden

Sound transmission is a concern for many condominium buyers. People who are relocating from a single-family home to a condo for the first time are particularly apprehensive. Morningside Group, a condo developer specializing in suburban downtown locations, hears these buyers’ concerns loud and clear.

“We place as much emphasis on sound transmission in our buildings as we do on their appearance and construction quality,” said David Strosberg, an architect and president of Morningside. “For example, the combination of copper water-supply piping and cast-iron stacks offer both sound resistance and durability,” he said.

Additional construction features designed to muffle noise include steel-framing, brick- and block-masonry walls and specially constructed party walls. A layer of cork is installed under hard surface floors, too.

Morningside’s newest enterprise is Museum Square in west suburban Elmhurst. The development will have 13 town houses plus 43 condos on the top three floors. Town houses are base-priced from $341,900 to $421,900. Condos are priced from the upper $200,000s to $430,900. Buyers will be supplied with one or two heated parking spaces.

HAWTHORN WOODS HOUSES. A 2-story family, a study and an island kitchen are highlights of the new, decorated Oxford model at Hawthorn Grove, a development of single-family homes in north suburban Hawthorn Woods.

The 3,801-square-foot Oxford is priced from $547,300.

Fifty-two houses, set on 1-acre lots, are planned. Homes are base- priced from the mid-$400,000s. Sizes range from 2,538 to about 4,300 square feet. Three-car garages are standard, and most garages are side-loading.

Hawthorn Grove, on the south side of Gilmer Road, between St. John’s Drive and Darlington, Hawthorn Woods. Kenneth James Builders, (847) 550-9222.

PALATINE CONDOS. Five furnished models are open at Wyndham Club, a condominium conversion in northwest suburban Palatine.